


don't give up on me now

by fosterthebucky



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Angst, Comfort, Ezra has a nightmare, Father-Son Relationship, Happy Ending, Other, Spoilers, and Kanan helps, it came out more cute, kinda short, this was supposed to be more angsty but it didn't really come out that way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-01
Updated: 2016-01-01
Packaged: 2018-05-10 20:19:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5599492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fosterthebucky/pseuds/fosterthebucky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>i don't care now what it's worth</i>
  <br/>
  <i>but if you lift this burden off my back</i>
  <br/>
  <i>i'll follow you to the bloody end</i>
  <br/>
</p><p>ezra has a nightmare<br/>
post-legacy, slight spoilers on the show and the kanan: the last padawan comic (#1-6)</p>
            </blockquote>





	don't give up on me now

Ezra stared at the ceiling, trying to steady his labored breathing. He quickly became distracted by the fuzzy darkness that was creeping into the edges of his vision. He wasn’t ready to sleep, not yet.

Not after that.

It had felt so real. The hand, _his_ hand, reaching out, desperately trying to grab onto anything it could reach, his heart racing a million miles a minute, tears stinging in his eyes as Kanan fell further and further away from him, a last desperate scream escaping his lungs as Kanan’s eyes slipped shut—he didn’t want to think about it, he never wanted to think about it. About losing the person he looked up to most, the person that was now the closest thing he would ever have to a father.

He felt a sob wrack his body, soundless and solemn. He locked his jaw, squeezed his eyes shut, making a feverish effort to not go into hysterics. He wanted to stop thinking. Every time he thought, he felt worse. He wanted to let go, he wanted to disappear…

He let out a desperate whine, biting his lip as tears escaped his eyes. While he knew that almost nothing could wake the Lasat sleeping below him, he was still embarrassed about how rattled a stupid nightmare had left him. More silent tears slid down his face as his body shook violently. He was not ready for an emotional breakdown, not after everything, not after his parents…

He tensed up when the door opened. The dim light of the hall created a soft shadow to fall across the floor as Kanan looked up at Ezra’s shuddering form. He could tell the boy was trying to fake being asleep- he had turned so his back was to him, pulled his blanket up to his ears, the whole deal- but Kanan could feel the tension in the air, the fear building up to create a suffocating atmosphere. Of all the habits Ezra could have picked up from him, Kanan had hoped he wouldn’t get the nightmares. It seemed that fate had other plans.

“Ezra.” The name fell from his mouth with slight desperation. He wasn’t sure he could help him. He wasn’t sure he would be able to reach out Ezra, to comfort him the way Kanan knew he needed.

He had to swallow his fear when there was no response, deciding to move closer. He rested his hand on the boy’s back. The muscles quickly tensed and shrunk away from his touch. The sobs grew louder and heavier as Ezra curled in on himself. Kanan felt himself go back to the place he was years upon years ago, the emotions he felt when he would wake with a start from a bitter nightmare. He felt his heart sink when he remembered the way he would shrink away from Kasmir’s attempts at comfort.

He didn’t want Ezra to go down that same road. He knows that pain that comes with it.                                

He pulled himself onto the bunk, sitting so that his legs were stretched out alongside the boy’s body. He placed his hand on a tensed shoulder.

“I’m here.”

They were just two small words, spoken in a hushed voice. The most simple form of comfort available. And yet…

The body next to him stopped shaking. Ezra’s eyes shot open, his breath caught in his throat. He lifted himself off of the mattress slowly, turning to look at Kanan with a pained expression. His eyes were puffy; his lip was swollen from the heavy abuse it had received. He began to shake again as the suppressed emotion fell over him in waves.

Kanan spread his arms, and Ezra immediately clung to his waist. Loud wails were muffled by a loose night shirt, which Kanan found was beginning to stick to him with wetness.

“I made a mistake… then you… I couldn’t… I tried to help, but… I… I-I…” Kanan wrapped his arms around the boy’s trembling figure, holding him tightly and gently hushing him.

“I’m right here, and we’re both safe. It’s all over now…” The last sentence came out of his mouth with a gentle cringe. He knew it wasn’t true. He knew that this would happen over and over. If Ezra was anything like Kanan, this wasn’t some sort of phase he would outgrow. However, there was one thing he knew would be different- he wasn’t going to give up on Ezra.

He would always be here, ready to protect him from the pain, no matter what came with tomorrow.

**Author's Note:**

> this was my first star wars: rebels fic, so i hope the characters don't seem off  
> sorry it's kind of short, and i didn't proof read very heavily  
> i'm sure there will be many more fics for these characters because i love them


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